Lowtein report
Grocery flyers on both sides of the border: beef for less in Canada, chicken up to double
The lowest advertised prices in 7 pairs of neighbouring US and Canadian cities, June to November 2026.
The short answer
On sale, ground beef costs less on the Canadian side of the border. Chicken breast costs far more. In 5 of the 7 city pairs, the lowest advertised price for boneless skinless chicken breast was at least 1.5 times higher on the Canadian side, and as much as 2.1×, after converting to US dollars. For ground beef, the Canadian side was lower in 6 of the 7 pairs and about even in the other one.
City by city
Each row is a US city and the nearest Canadian city we cover. The dots show the lowest price per lb in each city's weekly grocery flyers, taken as the middle value across the weeks when both cities had an ad.
US city Canadian city, converted to US$
Boneless skinless chicken breast
US$ per lb. The badge names the pricier side and by how many times.
- Burlington, VT – Montreal, QCCanada 2.1×$1.99$4.18
- Buffalo, NY – Toronto, ONCanada 1.8×$2.29$4.23
- Detroit, MI – Windsor, ONCanada 2.1×$1.99$4.25
- Port Huron, MI – Sarnia, ONCanada 1.2×$3.49$4.26
- Fargo, ND – Winnipeg, MBCanada 1.1×$4.49$4.83
- Spokane, WA – Kelowna, BCCanada 1.6×$2.99$4.85
- Seattle, WA – Vancouver, BCCanada 1.6×$2.99$4.87
Ground beef
US$ per lb. The badge names the pricier side and by how many times.
- Burlington, VT – Montreal, QCAbout even$3.99$4.08
- Buffalo, NY – Toronto, ONUS 1.1×$3.94$4.29
- Detroit, MI – Windsor, ONUS 1.2×$4.16$4.79
- Port Huron, MI – Sarnia, ONUS 1.2×$4.21$4.99
- Fargo, ND – Winnipeg, MBUS 1.3×$4.60$5.99
- Spokane, WA – Kelowna, BCUS 1.3×$4.63$5.99
- Seattle, WA – Vancouver, BCUS 1.3×$4.54$5.99
The numbers
| Cities | Chicken US | Chicken Canada | Beef US | Beef Canada |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burlington, VT – Montreal, QC | $1.99 | $4.18 (C$5.88) | $3.99 | $4.08 (C$5.75) |
| Buffalo, NY – Toronto, ON | $2.29 | $4.23 (C$5.87) | $4.29 | $3.94 (C$5.48) |
| Detroit, MI – Windsor, ON | $1.99 | $4.25 (C$5.99) | $4.79 | $4.16 (C$5.88) |
| Port Huron, MI – Sarnia, ON | $3.49 | $4.26 (C$5.99) | $4.99 | $4.21 (C$5.88) |
| Fargo, ND – Winnipeg, MB | $4.49 | $4.83 (C$6.79) | $5.99 | $4.60 (C$6.47) |
| Spokane, WA – Kelowna, BC | $2.99 | $4.85 (C$6.79) | $5.99 | $4.63 (C$6.49) |
| Seattle, WA – Vancouver, BC | $2.99 | $4.87 (C$6.79) | $5.99 | $4.54 (C$6.34) |
Per lb, in US dollars, with the Canadian-dollar figure in brackets. In Burlington–Montreal and Buffalo–Toronto, the Canadian side did not have the lower chicken breast price in any week we compared.
The gap is in the sales, not the shelf price
Government average prices tell a milder story. Statistics Canada's average for chicken breast was C$6.54 per lb in August 2026, which is about US$4.66. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics average for boneless chicken breast was $4.20 in September 2026. That is a gap of about 11%, not double.
The difference shows up when stores run a sale. In 5 of the 7 US cities here, the lowest advertised chicken breast price was at least 25% below the national average. In 7 of the 7 Canadian cities, it sat within 15% of the Canadian average. So a shopper who buys chicken on sale sees a much bigger gap than the averages suggest.
For ground beef the two sources agree with the flyers: the Canadian average works out to about US$5.41 per lb against $6.79 in the US.
Chicken is produced under supply management in Canada, a system of production quotas. Beef is not. Flyer prices alone can't show that this is the reason for the gap.
See this week's prices
Every city here has a page with this week's advertised prices, each checked against the government average: Burlington and Montreal, Buffalo and Toronto, Detroit and Windsor, Port Huron and Sarnia, Fargo and Winnipeg, Spokane and Kelowna, Seattle and Vancouver. Or find your city.
How we did this
We reviewed 141,705 advertised prices from the weekly flyers of the 14 cities, from June 2026 to November 2026, and kept the 1,689 that were boneless skinless chicken breast or ground beef with a stated price per lb or per kg. For each city and week we took the lowest of those prices. A pair of cities is compared only in weeks when both had an ad, which gave 11 to 23 weeks per pair, and each figure is the middle value across those weeks.
Canadian prices are converted at each week's Bank of Canada exchange rate, which averaged C$1.40 to the US dollar over the period. Organic, frozen, breaded and seasoned products are left out. Ground beef includes all lean grades on both sides.
Limits. These are advertised flyer prices, not shelf prices. Each US city is matched to the nearest Canadian city in our data, and some pairs are a few hours apart. Coverage is thinner in some cities: Burlington, Buffalo, and Fargo had these products advertised by four stores or fewer. Chicken sold in Canada is mostly air-chilled and in the US mostly water-chilled, so the product is not identical. We don't account for loyalty-card requirements.
Published 2026-11-11. Free to cite with a link to this page. Questions: contact@lowtein.com. See also Is there a cheapest grocery store in America? and the monthly Grocery Price Index.